Credit: DisneyAfter the seemingly underwhelming performance of Wish (2023), Walt Disney Animation Studio might need to take a break to recover from its “Flop Era.”
As 2023 draws to a close, so does Disney’s release calendar, meaning that the studio will likely make several new announcements for its theatrical releases before the year is up. Several Disney fans have recognized a pattern that December is when Disney Animation reveals its next project, but they aren’t exactly hopeful after some recent reports.
If you’ve been keeping track of Disney’s box office behavior, you’ll already know that many of the studio’s latest cinematic offerings have been anything but hits. With the exception of Elemental (2023) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. (2023), Disney has been weighed, measured, and found wanting with much of its newer material.
Disney Animation Needs a Break, and So Do Fans
Even though some of Disney’s most recent work has won some fans, the Walt Disney Company has been hurting in the financial department. Bob Iger recently came forward about the direction the studio is taking and said that changes would be coming soon.
While animated movies are Disney’s primary reason for existing, the studio has been critically struggling with its audience, and this isn’t the first time in the company’s history it’s faced a potential hiatus.
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The film Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009) goes into much better detail on Disney’s dark age, but it looks as if the same thing is happening in its Flop Era. Although many expect an animated reveal sometime this week or next, many fans are actually hoping Disney takes a step back. A recent post on r/Disney had a few fans sharing their excitement for Disney’s predicted announcement, but a few are taking a much more skeptical approach in their replies.
‘ENCANTO’ was announced by Disney on December 10, 2020. ‘STRANGE WORLD’ was announced on December 9, 2021. This could be indicating that we will very soon be getting the announcement for the 2024 WDAS movie.
byu/Lonely-Freedom4986 indisney
Although Disney’s announcements in previous years, like Encanto (2021) and the much-maligned Strange World (2022), were met with an initially warm reception, the recent flops Disney has had to deal with have more than a few fans not holding their breath. They aren’t even cautiously optimistic for any future animated films.
u/Ixalmaris writes,
“Considering the string of not so good news lately I imagine they want to delay the announcement for a while for things to calm down.”
The same user goes on to say,
“Among other things. Disneys box office performance across all brands is currently under a lot of scrutiny and there is a general air of negativity about it. Any announcement now would also be affected by that and not generate as much hype as otherwise and might even cast the entire movie in a initial negative light…”
As if to echo these thoughts, u/galarianzapdos adds,
“I’d like them to take a year off after Wish and get their act together…”
To say that fans don’t have a reason to be apprehensive would be untrue, but are they realistically ready to go possibly a year or even two without a traditional release from Disney? While it might be some time before the studio considers this decision legitimately, history often repeats itself. We might see a Disney dark age sooner rather than later.
Do you think Disney will take a scheduled hiatus? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!